September 2nd, 1995. Monday.

The next day, no one wanted to get up - even with the promise of a new year, fresh and crisp. The last of the summer air was fierce and warm, snapping the windows in the dormitories open and closed. Outside, the blue sky stretched over green grass, morning fog creeping along the Forbidden Forest.

Selena wiped her eyes as she finished pulling on her school robe, and slipped her feet into shiny black Mary-Jane's. She grabbed her wand - cherrywood with dragon heartstring - and tucked it into her burlap schoolbag. It was already stuffed with textbooks including, but not limited to, Intermediate Transfiguration; The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3 by Miranda Goshawk; and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander.

With a pat to Crescent, who was still sleeping on her bed, Selena walked out.

Downstairs in the Common Room, everyone was staring at the bulletin board which had a new paper tacked on top of a schedule of Hogsmeade visit dates. The paper read:

GALLONS OF GALLEONS! Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoing? Like to earn a little extra gold?

Contact Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor common room, for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs (WE REGRET THAT ALL WORK IS UNDERTAKEN AT APPLICANT'S OWN RISK)

However, when Hermione Granger came down the stairs, she unpinned the paper immediately. As it turned out, Hermione was a newly elected Prefect that year, along with Ron Weasley, judging by the silver badges Selena spotted on their robes. As the gathered crowd grumbled, Tess greeted Selena and they began to head to breakfast.

"So," Tess said, "are you excited for term? There's so many new classes!"

"Yeah, I know! What classes are you taking?" Selena asked, recalling a letter Tess had written her over the summer as they climbed through the portrait hole. "You'd planned on taking Ancient Runes?"

Tess nodded vigorously. "Mm-hm. I'm also taking Divination."

"Me too!" Selena chirped, beaming at her friend. "Renee said she is as well, and Hazel."

"There's going to be so much homework, I can't wait," Tess said, her eyes lighting up excitedly.

Selena cracked a smile. "Ooh, more homework, lucky us!"

Tess laughed. Selena smiled wider, a calm happiness settling in her stomach. It was great to be around her friends again. She glanced at Tess, noticing how her friend had changed over the summer, getting a little taller. The willowy girl had her light-brown hair pulled up into a tight bun, the red flecks in her locks visible. Selena smiled again, thinking about how she'd changed herself the summer as well, her hair getting longer and her limbs seeming longer and graceful (her father had made jokes about her finally beginning to grow into her arms.) She felt different too, having spent the summer trying to cope with the death of Cedric Diggory. She didn't like to think about it much, but she was beginning to continue and forgive herself for not getting to Cedric in time.

But for the present, Selena felt like she was at home in Hogwarts, optimistic about the future. How was it already her third year?

Hadn't she just been a First Year, both nervous and excited for her first day?

Together, Selena and Tess walked down the Grand Staircase and into the Great Hall. After a breakfast of rolls, eggs, juice, and fried tomatoes, all the students headed towards class, new schedules in hand.

Selena passed Luna Lovegood, a blond Ravenclaw a year above her, speaking with Neil, a Slytherin boy.

"Hey!" Ray Macalaster yelled, running to catch up with Neil. Ray was also a Slytherin, his shaggy, curly black hair falling into his grey eyes. "What class do you have first? It says I have double potions with Snape."

Luna shrugged. "I'll go to some class. It doesn't really matter what order, right?"

Neil smiled at her, and nodded. "You're right. I'll go to Defense Against the Dark Arts whenever. Besides, I'm not too thrilled to have class with Professor Umbridge later."

Everyone seemed to be making simlar comments about Defense Against the Dark Arts. Especially the Third Years. Selena couldn't blame her classmates. They hadn't had the best track-record with professors in that subject. Their first teacher, Remus Lupin, had been a werewolf involved with Sirius Black, an alleged criminal (though Selena knew this to be untrue.) The second has been a murderer named Barty Crouch Jr who had used a Polyjuice Potion, disguising himself as the Auror Mad-Eye Moody. Selena didn't like thinking about that particular teacher, as he had aided in the death of Cedric Diggory.

This year, the professor was a woman from the Ministry of Magic. One who had an affinity for pink.

What would she be like? Unfortunately, the Third Year Gryffindors had her first.

Selena took a seat at a middle desk, next to Alisson. The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom seemed fairly bare, the stone space decorated with its permanent metal chandelier, large windows, and suspended dragon skeleton. However, apart from that, Professor Umbridge had added nothing else. When the professor - clad with a black bow in her hair and her pink cardigan - walked down from her office, the class quieted. No one exactly knew if she was as aloof as Hagrid, or strict as Snape. However, from her speech earlier, Selena guessed she liked to talk.

"Good morning!" she said. A few Slytherins replied, but that was about it.

"Hem-hem," she said, clearing her throat. Selena drummed her fingers on the table, already disliking Umbridge more and more. "That is not a proper greeting. It's good morning. Say it correctly."

Everyone followed, like monkey-see-monkey-do. "Better," Umbridge said, her voice sickly sweet. "Now..." she eyed their wands sitting obediently on the table-tops. "Wands away, and quills out."

Murmurs swept through class, and then were muffled by the tapping of her heels. Everyone quickly stuffed their wands away and pulled out fresh parchment, quills, and ink pots.

Professor Umbridge took her wand and lightly tapped the blackboard. Words quickly formed on the surface:

Defense Against the Dark Arts: A Return to Basic Principles

"You will quickly learn that I teach the fundamentals of this class much more expertly and revised than your past... teachers. This means that my educating is from the Ministry, and has been approved as a course of defensive magic. Your third year will be much improved now that the Ministry of Magic is dictating and watching over our lessons, won't it? Of course! So, please copy down the following," she said, and again knocked on the blackboard.

The first scribble was replaced by:

Course aims:

1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.

2. Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.

3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.

The scratching of quills took up in the air for a few moments until Umbridge cleared her throat once again. "Hem, hem. Quills down, everyone. Good. Now, do you all have you copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

Everyone nodded. Selena pictured the boring-looking book in her schoolbag. "Yes, Professor Umbridge."

She clasped her hands. "Lovely. Without speaking, turn to page five and read 'Basics for Beginners' which is chapter one. Begin."

The teacher then sat down at her desk, watching them all carefully. Her mouth sloped down in a frown.

Even though no student said it out loud, Selena would've bet they were all thinking the same thing: this is going to be a long year.

Once the class was over, it was onto Divination.

1 Hour Later

Immediately, Selena noticed that the Divination professor was going to be drastically different from Umbridge's approach to Defense Against the Dark Arts. For one thing, the only way to access her class was from a ladder leading into a trap door. To get there, one had to venture through pieces of the Hogwarts castle Selena hadn't gone through before. She'd nearly gotten lost, going through the a lengthy corridor before climbing a spiraling staircase in the North Tower. At the top of this was the ladder, leading to a round trapdoor. To top off the ladder situation, because it was at the top of a tower, when climbing, if someone looked back all they saw was the ground far, far, far, far down.

This proved to be disturbing to Hazel, who refused to climb and made her way back down the stairs, saying she was going to switch classes. Once Selena had gone through the trapdoor, she'd emerged in a classroom lit in scarlet shades. The space had many round tables, and shelves piled with crystal balls and candles and other items. A fire was lit in the fireplace, burning under a kettle, an odd scent emanating from the flames. The tower room was hot, Selena immediately feeling constricted by her gray uniform vest and tie. But the oddest thing about the class wasn't the entrance or the decor. It was the teacher.

Professor Trelawney wore giant glasses that made her eyes orbs and put beads and a kerchief over her tangled hair. Her pale hands were adorned with rings and her clothing was very shabby-looking - she almost looked like an oracle that had been picked off the streets.

When the class had to look at tea leaves, she walked around spewing out information about their names.

"Selena!" she said, when the professor reached their table. "A Greek name meaning 'the moon' suits you well!"

Selena nodded, blinking her blue eyes. "Thank you..."

"And Renee! Meaning 'reborn' and of French origin!" Professor Trelawney rattled on.

Renee looked horrified, nodding and clutching her teacup tightly. Once Trelawney walked away, Renee looked at Selena.

"Has she ever hear of a hairbrush?" she asked. "Or personal space?"

Okay, I know it's late but I was stuck on how to approach their whole... new year... persay... BUT! I plan to continue along with everthing and the D.A. and such.

Tell me who you want to see in the chapters AND NOT YOUR OWN PERSON! Someone else's that you find very dynamic and interesting.

And I DO have my own ideas of what I WANT in the futare chapter, but remember- each year is around 26 chapters long, so I need some fillers and extra base ASIDE from the actual Harry Potter T.O.P. book.

GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS! WOO-HOO!

And why not tell me what you liked and didn't like (spare my feelings!) about this chapter!

Thanks for reading!

~Meghan

9/26/17: The dialogue from DADA class might be from the books. I'm sure the writing on the board is taken from the books.